Grease The Musical – Review – Bradford Alhambra

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Grease The Musical Review Bradford Alhambra (2)

By Christine Goode, July 2024

Have you heard the low down currently in Bradford? Well… Grease is the Word! The much-beloved musical has returned to the Alhambra Theatre and remains a firm favourite with audiences of all ages.

I remember my parents taking me at the tender age of 9 to the local cinema to see the long-awaited movie starring Olivia Newton John and John Travolta, not knowing anything about it, but after seeing it for the first time the memory and love of the film and story has stayed with me to this very day (admittedly, quite a few years on!).

Most people like me will remember the fun, light-hearted bubblegum teen hit story, with well know classics such as ‘Grease Is The Word’, ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’, ‘Sandy’, ‘Beauty School Drop Out’, along with all the other well know favourites. However, last night’s show was quite a surprise – and not what most die-hard Grease fans, including myself and my guest, were expecting.

Grease The Musical Review Bradford Alhambra (1)

“Slick”

With new songs, different names, scenes, and script changes, this production is grittier and steers away from the usual format one would expect.

I was intrigued to find out more and why director Nikolai Foster had made such changes to this iconic musical. Well, it turns out the 1978 movie we all know and love is not the original, and was completely reworked for the big screen. Reinvented, this version followed to the stage in 1993 as most people would remember it. Foster has now taken the musical back to its original roots from 1971, introducing new songs (to us), with different scene settings. Collaborating with choreographer, Dame Arlene Phillips, who has brought a refreshing new feel to the choreography, with slick isolated movements and footwork, rather than the big bold arm choreography we all know and love to do on the dancefloor.

The cast are superb, Danny Zuko played by Marley Fenton and Sandy Dumbrowski played by Hope Dawe bring everything to their roles one would expect, especially on each of their solo performances, ‘Hopelessly Devoted’, and ‘Sandy’. Doody, played by Kieran Lynch, deserves a special mention, as does Marty, tonight played by Lauren Kate Hampton, their goofy comedy was hilarious.

Grease The Musical Review Bradford Alhambra (3)

“Rapturous”

Scenic and costume design by Colin Richmond, is still set in the 50’s but has a modern twist and is impressive.

Notable numbers were the iconic ‘Greased Lighting’, and my personal favourite ‘Beauty School Drop Out’, which was very pink, sparkly, and fun!

The new format at times did seem a little confusing, replacing songs we would normally expect to hear, such as the sleep over at Marty’s house, with Marty singing ‘Freddie My Love’ instead of the usual ‘Sandra Dee’ sung by Rizzo – a firm favourite of any Grease fan. However, Rizzo played by Rebecca Stenhouse did sing this later on in another scene, resulting in rapturous applause.

The changes to this production did not have any detriment on this audience, as they clearly enjoyed it and were on their feet at the end during the ‘Grease Mega Mix’. On the way home we saw many people dressed in Pink Ladies Jackets, as well as other characters from the show, displaying beyond no doubt, that they are avid fans of this iconic show, which ever version is on show.

‘Grease The Musical’ is at Bradford Alhambra until Saturday 3 August

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